Wednesday, November 28, 2012

U.S. National Under-18 Team defenseman Gage Ausmus can hardly recognize the player he was one year ago.

With one year of National Team Development Program experience, the East
Grand Forks, Minn., native said he feels more confident and that the
details of his game — such as stick handling and positioning — have
greatly improved.

“Over the summer, I watched NHL on the Fly, and watched the pros to see
what they did right and what they did wrong,” he said. “I got in the
weight room, worked on stick handling and shot pucks.”

He specifically spent time watching Brooks Orpik, a 2010 U.S. Olympian
and Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman who Ausmus tries to model his game
after.

“He plays a solid game back at the blue line and doesn’t let anyone get
anything easy off,” Ausmus said. “He plays a tough game, and I like
that.”

Ausmus added some muscle this off-season in an attempt to toughen up. He
came into the U.S. National Under-17 Team last year weighing just 196
pounds. He came back this year at 6-1 and 211 pounds.

“It’s definitely easier to box guys out and play with a more physical
presence,” Ausmus said. “It’s easier all around being a bigger guy on
the ice.

“I think in the penalty kill area [it has helped too]. The positioning
and stick positioning — it makes the game a lot easier to block shots
and get the puck out of the zone. Plus it gives me more confidence in my
game.”

Ausmus also had another highlight this fall — playing for Rob
McClanahan, who won a gold medal for coach Herb Brooks at the 1980
Olympic Winter Games, at the 2012 CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects
Game in Buffalo.

“It was a great experience for me,” Ausmus said.

“We played in
the very nice rink in Buffalo and it was fun time being there. People
thought we might take it easy playing against our own players, but
that’s not what happened. It was fun and very competitive; I had a
great time."

“It was fun playing for Coach McClanahan and talking to him. He said to
stick with it — there will be hard times but keep on moving.”

Moving forward is something Ausmus continues to do. Winning the Four
Nations Tournament, which was held in early November at the Ann Arbor
Ice Cube, was an experience he will never forget.

“Last year, our first international tournament was in Russia and
everyone was booing us,” he recalled. “Now we got to play here and
everyone was rooting for us. It was a great feeling knowing the fans
are on your side and every time you score, the fans are cheering.

“The best thing I remember is standing on the blue line and hearing
your national anthem in front of your fans. It’s a great feeling.”

That’s a feeling he gets in and every time he puts on the USA jersey.

“The first time I put it on last year, it was the greatest feeling in
the world,” he said. “Every time I put it on, it is the same feeling
over and over again. It never gets old.”

A new feeling will arrive next year when Ausmus puts on his college jersey for the University of Denver.

“The education was a big thing for me,” he said of DU. “I really liked
their campus. When I first saw it, I thought it was amazing. They have a
great hockey program; it’s second to none. All those things combined —
it made my choice easy in the end.”

For now, Ausmus is focused on one thing: continuing to become a complete player.

“My goal for myself is to keep building confidence and to keep playing
steady,” he said. “Obviously, for the team, we want win the majority of
the USHL games and try to get some college wins. At the end of the
year, win that big event [the world championship].”